Sylvia by Christine Sharp

UQP, 2014. ISBN 9780702253140.
Highly recommended for 4-6 year old readers, parents, families, teachers and all who love to share their love of gardening with young children. Organic Gardening. Snails. Getting Along. Creativity
'Oh, Simon Green, how I pine for your parsley leaves and fresh young peas. Your spinach and your strawberries are so scrumptious.' Sylvia Snail loves gardener Simon Greens' vegetable patch where she can munch on mushrooms, chomp on cabbages and indulge in luscious lettuce leaves. Unfortunately, keen organic gardener Simon has reached the limits of his patience, his carefully tended vegetables are being eaten by Sylvia. When her note to Simon written with her shimmering trail is totally ignored, the little snail comes up with an ingenious and far-fetched plan to attract Simon's attention.
This is a delightful picture book, Christine Sharp's colourful illustrations are bold in detail, each double-paged spread is filled to the brim with layers of vegetables, plants and patterned backgrounds. Close-ups from Sylvia's world view are appealing, adding to the delightfully alliterative text. There are snail trails to explore and birds and insects to discover, as the reader or class engages with Sylvia's creativity.
Rhyllis Bignell